The Survivor [1981] [DVD]

I don't know anyone else who has any good words about this little seen straight-to-video creepie, but I'll take issue with the other Amazon reviewer (see above) by claiming that for me it's a far more interesting work than the novel which inspired it, and the only really interesting movie adaptation of James Herbert. I'm surprised that the British cinema hasn't done more to capitalise on Herbert's international success; he's Britain's most succesful horror writer, and it's over thirty years since he hit the big time with the pornographically violent "The Rats". He's had a couple of dozen huge bestsellers since, but the only British movie adaptation has been Lewis Gilbert's wretched "Haunted".
"The Survivor" is an Australian picture-the novel was set in home counties Britain- made by actor/director Hemmings, an artistic refugee from the Britain after the box office failure of "Running Scared" and "The Fourteen", his first films as director, and it re-unites him with Robert Powell, star of "Running Scared".
Hemmings was an interesting actor and a maverick, highly variable director. His place in movie history was secured when, as a hopeful,unknown young actor he took the lead as a disillusioned fashion photographer in Michaelangelo Antonioni's brilliant and influential 1967 arthouse hit "Blow Up". It is the film for which he will be remembered, and it's influence- both visual and thematic- is clearly detectable in "The Survivor", which has a story and screenplay which Antonioni wouldn't have touched with a bargepole.

The plotline is delightfully macabre; a bomb explodes on a passenger plane during take-off. The pilot is the only survivor, and he is haunted by the voices of the dead,leading him on to investigate and finally unmask the lunatic culprit. Meanwhile, peripheral figures in the investigation are being destroyed by supernatural evil.

There are some unusual and rather effective scenes; a bizarre game played by children in a deserted field; the grim fate of a callous press photographer ("Blow-up" again)and the literally explosive finale in the wreckage of the plane.

The main problem is a woefully underdeveloped script; Joseph Cotton puts in a brief appearance as a concerned priest and the delectable Jenny Agguter plays a psychic who's apparently tuned in to Robert Powell's mental anguish, but neither of them emerge as more than vague plot cyphers, and though I've seen this movie twice, I still can't work out the saboteur's motive. Maybe production interference is to blame;
a running time of 82 minutes suggests that further scenes may have ended up on the cutting room floor.

Whatever, it's still a supernatural flick with more subtleties than most, and a nicely doom-laden feel. The final twist wasn't original at the time, but it was still used twenty years later in the absurdly overrated "The
Sixth Sense".

Incidentally, has anybody out there got copies
of Hemming's "Running Scared" or "The Fourteen", which have hardly been seen in the U.K. since their original and short-lived cinema release, or have they joined the long list of "lost" British movies?

Just after taking off, a Jetliner goes into a emergency landing, but the pilots can't control the situation and the plane crashes and presumably everybody is dead because of the state of the disaster. That's until out of the wreckage and flames, out comes walking the only survivor the pilot. When asked what happened, the pilot has temporary memory loss and because of that he's tortured by the guilt of being the only survivor. A woman who believes to be part of this accident joins the pilot on trying to figure out this baffling mystery, which somehow involves the restless spirits of the plane crash pushing the two to seek out the truth.

I remember when I came across the trailer for this flick on some rental video, and boy did it freak me out when I was kid, but that's going back and I just saw it for the first time now. And from what I saw, I got nothing but high praise for this Australian paranormal thriller. It isn't flawless, but there's something enthralling about the mystery of it all and it's a technically impressive production. 'The Survivor' which was adapted from James Herbert's novel was shot in Adelaide, Australia with some of the same crew of the previous film 'Harlequin' involved, but they managed to pull some international actors other then Robert Powell, but Jenny Agutter and Joseph Cotton too. And also some local faces Angela Punch-McGregor and Peter Summer who have small roles pop up.

David Hemming takes the pivotal role of director here and paints a very moody picture that has a vastly quiet stillness and baffling nature to all of it. The supernatural factor of the plot exploits the fear of this startling subject by having short pockets of intense shocks and taut suspense along way to its breathtaking climax. The supernatural element is one that haunts the mind and evokes such terror in the face. To get this feel it's depressingly downbeat. The advantage of that is that it doesn't cross away from that central idea and it's hard to know what's coming around each corner. Hemming also stages some unsettling moments with such vision. First off would be when the jetliner is going down and we see it from a street bystander's viewpoint and that of the crash site and wreckage is so damn eerie. The climax also packs a massive punch, but if you've seen some recent films in the last couple of years it might not come as a bigger surprise, but I for one didn't see it coming. The plot works rather well with it ambiguous and slowly paced structure, where we are still left with some more questions at the end, but saying that 'mostly' everything starts to fit into the puzzle with precision, where you learn there's a whole lot more to it then what we began with. Just after watching a couple of the X-files seasons over the last week or two, this is something that wouldn't feel out of placed in an x-files episode. The mystery thrives here in the plot and only for those who enjoy a good and highly creepy mystery with supernatural overtones.

Make sure you watch the film in wide screen to get John Seale's wide scope cinematography that was shot with such elegance and subtleness with a lot distinctive elements. It had a nice polished touch to it by working in every little detail with flashes of creativity and unsteadiness to proceedings. The choice of setting added even more to the unsettling nature with such beautiful backdrops that go hand-to-hand to mood of the characters and story. The score by Brian May succeeded too by really touching a nerve with its echoing emphasis on a air of creepiness, but to a soothing and innocent spell of suggestiveness. Also the highly effective sound effects creaked alertness. Exemplary performances are given from a top cast of talented internationals. Robert Powell is impressive as the stone-cold pilot Keller, Jenny Agutter is beautifully engaging as Hobbs who can get in touch with other-side and then there's Joseph Cotton putting in solid performance as The Priest. These believable characters you actually care for, especially because you join the two in their journey of discovery and torment to what really happened. Where you learn its fate between the connection of Keller and Hobbs. What keeps you gripped other than that of the great imagery, focused tension and fantastic performances is that of the heavy laced dialog, which drives the film into weird but compelling territory.

After two decades the film still holds up rather well and left me with a cold shudder after being thrown right into it. Startlingly good entertainment!
I still have the signed VHS Video by Jenny Agutter

Part of an ill-fated two-picture deal (alongside Harlequin) that Robert Powell signed in the wake of Jesus of Nazareth's success, Australian horror movie The Survivor is a fairly good idea undone by clumsy writing and rushed execution, although the film looks like it's either been heavily edited or they ran out of money and couldn't film everything in the script. Ideas are left hanging, motives unexplained and characters disappear after fleeting introductions (third-billed Angela Punch McGregor gets a single line in one brief scene). Powell's pilot is the sole survivor of a crash on take-off and as he falls under suspicion during the crash investigation, those exploiting the tragedy (most notably an unscrupulous photographer) start to die at the hands of the dead victims and Jenny Agutter's psychic tries to enlist his help in giving their spirits peace before the body count rises. All of which sounds much more interesting than the execution, as David Hemmings' direction veers more to the competent than the inspired, though a replay of the spectacular crash scene is highly effective.